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LATE PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE £,N DIEGO REGION EXCHANGE NETWORKS AND BEADS AMONG THE HISTORIC luMEYAAY

CARMEN I. ZEPEDA

Pre and post-contact Kumeyaay trade is examined. Ethnographic records are reviewed, as well as archaeological data from the late

prehistoric and contact periods. Archaeological findings indicate that the Kumeyaay obtained shell beads manufactured some 300 miles

away in Santa Barbara, implying that the Chumash trade network must have extended further south than previously documented. The

results from statistical analyses of the bead measurements a/so challenge the assumption that long-distance trade among Kumeyaay

groups diminished or completely ceased after Spanish contact. The dramatic changes that the Spanish invasion caused did notstop long

distance exchange networks from operating. Persistence ofthese networks indicates that communication and organization that existed

before contact was still in effect. the founding of the San Diego Mission in

1769, life for

the California Indians of the San iego area, the Kumeyaay, changed dramatically. The Kumeyaay were primarily hunters and gatherers who lived in semi-nomadic bands, moving seasonally according to available food resources (Luomala 1978:597; Spier 1923:307). The Spanish invasion disrupted the Kumeyaay settlement patterns, hunting and gathering activities, and exchange networks (Shipek 1991:27). Most ethnographic and historic accounts assume that long distance trade among California Indian groups broke down due to the Spanish invasion (Bamforth 1993:68; Earle and Ericson 1977:9).

This, however, does not seem to have been the

case in San Diego County. In fact, artifacts have been recovered from several historic sites in the county that indicate long-distance trade (Carrico and Day 198) :90;

McDonald 1992:305; McGowan 1972: 24). One such

site is A-mutt-nook in Mason Valley, eastern San Diego

County. A-mutt-nook was one of the three large

Kumeyaay winter villages. It was occupied until 1870 and then abandoned due to a smallpox epidemic. The site was first excavated by Malcolm Rogers in 1925 and

1929. It consists of three cemeteries with an

estimated 100 cremations (Rogers 1929:1-10). Rogers recovered various historic-period artifacts, including metal objects and 7,630 O. biplicata rough disc shell beads, but no evidence of bead manufacturing. These beads are similar in diameter, perforation size, thickness, and finish to those manufactured in the

Chumash area near Santa Barbara, where ample

documentation exists for an abundance of shell bead manufacturing (Arnold 1987, 1991, 1992; Arnold and

Munns 1994; King 1976, 1978, 1990a). Because

Chumash shell beads had a wide distribution, it can be hypothesized that the beads from A-mutt-nook were made in the Chumash area and traded to the Kumeyaay. The goal of this paper is to examine this issue of exchange between the Kumeyaay and the Chumash during the historic period (A.D. 1769-1834).

I looked specifically at

the distribution of O. biplicata rough disc beads.

EXCHANGE NETWORKS IN SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA

The Indians of southern California had an

established system of exchange at the time of Spanish contact. There is some documentation of the Kumeyaay's extensive trade network, which included the Mohave, Yuman, Cocopa, Cahuilla, and Luiseno (Carrico and Day 1981; Davis 1961; Eidsness et al.

1979).

According to Davis (1961), the Dieguefio,

(western Kumeyaay) traded their eagle feathers to the Cocopa in exchange for salt. They obtained vegetal foods and salt from the Kamia (eastern Kumeyaay) in return for tobacco, acorns, baked mescal roots, yucca fibers, sandals, baskets, carrying nets, and eagle feathers. The Kumeyaay traded acorns with the

Mohave and Yuman in

exchange for gourd seeds. From the desert, the Diegueno obtained rule roots, bulbs, cattail sprouts, yucca leaves, mescal, pine nuts, manzanita, berries, chokecherries, and mesquite beans (Davis 1961:20). Davis' ethnographic account IS informative as to which items were traded.

The archaeological record confirms this

widespread trade. Lithic artifacts made from Salton

Butte obsidian have been recovered from the late

Carmen L Zepeda., California Department ofParks and Recreation

Proceedings altlre Sociefy

for California Arcllaeologj', Volume 14, lO(}i, pp 125-132

126 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY FOR CALIFORNIA ARCHAEOLOGY, VOL. 14, 2000

prehistoric village of Ystagua (Carrico and Day 1981 :90; Eidsness et al. 1979:96). This type of obsidian is found near the Salton Sea; therefore, its presence on the coast indicates an exchange network between the Kumeyaay and the Cahuilla near the Salton Sea. Chert and Palomar Brown ceramic sherds from the Luiseno territory were also recovered from the village of Ystagua, indicating trade with the Luiseno to the north (Eidsness et al. 1979:96).

Most of the trading among tribes occurred through

a barter system, although there is one account that describes food being traded for shell beads which were used as a form of monetary exchange (Shipek

1982:299). Another report mentions that the

Kumeyaay used Olivel/a shell beads as a mainstay in their widespread trade and barter system (Carrico and

Day 1981:75). Shell beads may have been used as a

form of money in these cases, but this is not made clear in the ethnographic accounts.

In contrast, it has been clearly documented that

the Chumash used Olivel/a shell beads as a form of money in their exchange system (Arnold 1987, 1991, 1992;

Arnold and Munns 1994; King 1976, 1978,

1990a).

The Chumash had an intricate trade network

that involved three different environmental regions: island, mainland, and inland. Each region had its own resources that were exploited at different seasons and traded for profit and/or desired items. Trading supplemented each region's resources (King 1976).

Chumash exchange with groups outside their area

is also well documented in the ethnographic and ethnohistoric records. The mainland Chumash sent wooden vessels inlaid with Haliotis shell to the

Kitanemuk (Davis 1961:28). The Chumash imported

red ochre and soft blankets from the Mohave (King

1976:305). They also exported steatite vessels to the

Salinans, and shell beads and "unspecified goods" to the Mohave. The Chumash imported fish, obsidian, steatite beads, salt, seed, herbs, and vegetables from the Sourhern Valley Yokuts and pinon nuts from the TubatulabaL Chumash shell beads, Olivel/a shell, and other shells were traded to these same groups (Davis

1961 :28).

One ethnographic account states that shell

beads were taken from the Chumash to the

Gabrieleno, and then to the Cahuilla in the Palm

Springs area (Strong 1929:95-96).

The archaeological record demonstrates that

Chumash shell beads were traded throughout southern California and some surrounding areas. Spire-removed beads from the Chumash have been found in the Great Basin that date to the Early period (6000-7000 years

B.P.),

indicating exchange 4500-6000 B.C./6500-8000 B.P. (Bennyhoff and Hughes 1987:156-160; King

1990a: 107). In

the Southwest, O. biplicata disc (saucer) beads dating to the end of the Middle period (A.D.

900-1150/1100-850 B.P.)

have been recovered from the northern Anazasi area and the Great Basin (King

1990a: 150).

In San Diego County, at least two sites

have evidence of exchange with the Chumash prior to the historic period (King 1990a: 110; McDonald 1992). Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties also have produced Early, Middle, and Late period shell beads similar to those from the Chumash area (King 1990a: 111, 122, 129). Finally, in central

California,

O. biplicata spire-lopped beads have been

recovered that are possibly contemporary with Middle period Phase 1 (800-1400 B.C./2800-3400 B.P.) (King

1990a: 119). Clearly,

Chumash shell beads had a wide

distribution among numerous Indian tribes.

SHELL BEADS

Next, I will take a closer look at shell beads and shell bead manufacturing. O. biplicata shell was the most commonly used material for beads in California throughout all periods (King 1990a: 1 03). These beads are one of many forms that are temporally diagnostic in King's (1990a) bead typology for southern California, which is based on the premise that bead diameters, hole sizes, and thicknesses are indicative of a particular time period.

O. biplicata rough disc beads are made from the

wall of the shell. They appeared after A.D. 1776, when wall disc beads had diameters larger than 4.0 mm and less smooth ground edges. After 1782, the perforations of Olivel/a rough disc beads became smaller, because stone drills were being rapidly replaced by iron needles. By 1816, the outside diameter of the rough disc beads is between 5.0 and 6.2 mm (King 1990a: 179 181).

With the passing of time, bead edges and

diameters become more variable. As discussed above, the different diameters and hole sizes are indicative of a particular time.

Bead Manufacturing

Shell bead manufacturing requires an abundance

of shell in addition to tools such as drills. Small stone drills were used to make the perforation until iron needles were introduced by the Spaniards in 1782 (Gibson 1995:4). Massive amounts of shell detritus, stone drills or broken drill bits, and bead blanks are evidence of shell bead manufacturing. Results from a study of Late-period (A.D. 1300-1782) bead manufacturing sites from the Chumash area show that for every finished bead there were seven bead blanks, 127
LATE PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOL06Y IN THE SAN DIEGO REGION nine stone drills, and 300 shell fragments (Arnold

1992:135-136).

It is clear that at a bead manufacturing

site, hundreds of shell beads would be made; therefore, there should be huge amounts of detritus to mark such a site.

Chumash Area

Ample archaeological and ethnographic evidence

exists that indicate that the Chumash had craftquotesdbs_dbs17.pdfusesText_23

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